Atransatlantic flight is the flight of anaircraft across theAtlantic Ocean fromEurope,Africa,South Asia, or theMiddle East toNorth America,Latin America, orvice versa. Such flights have been made byfixed-wing aircraft,airships,balloons and other aircraft.
Earlyaircraft engines had neither the reliability nor the power to lift the required fuel to make a transatlantic flight. There were difficulties navigating over the featureless expanse of water for thousands of miles, and theweather, especially in theNorth Atlantic, is unpredictable. Since the middle of the 20th century, however, transatlantic flight has become routine, forcommercial,military,diplomatic, and other purposes.
The idea of transatlantic flight came about with the advent of thehot air balloon. The balloons of the period were inflated withcoal gas, a moderate lifting medium compared tohydrogen orhelium, but with enough lift to use the winds that would later be known as theJet Stream. In 1859,John Wise built an enormous aerostat named theAtlantic, intending to cross theAtlantic. The flight lasted less than a day, crash-landing inHenderson, New York.Thaddeus S. C. Lowe prepared a massive balloon of 725,000 cubic feet (20,500 m3) called theCity of New York to take off fromPhiladelphia in 1860, but was interrupted by the onset of theAmerican Civil War in 1861.
Powered by twoRolls-Royce Eagle 360 hp engines, theVickers Vimy flown by British aviatorsAlcock and Brown made the first non-stop transatlantic flight in 1919. The first successful transatlantic flight in a balloon was theDouble Eagle II fromPresque Isle, Maine, toMiserey, nearParis in 1978.
In April 1913, the London newspaperThe Daily Mail offered a prize of £10,000[1] (£568,000 in 2023[2]) to
the aviator who shall first cross the Atlantic in an aeroplane in flight from any point in the United States of America, Canada orNewfoundland and any point in Great Britain or Ireland" in 72 continuous hours.[3]
Thecompetition was suspended with the outbreak ofWorld War I in 1914 but reopened afterArmistice was declared in 1918.[3] The war saw tremendous advances in aerial capabilities, and a real possibility of transatlantic flight by aircraft emerged.
Between 8 and 31 May 1919, the Curtiss seaplaneNC-4 made a crossing of the Atlantic flying from the U.S. toNewfoundland, then to theAzores, and on to mainlandPortugal and finally theUnited Kingdom. The whole journey took 23 days, with six stops along the way. A trail of 53 "station ships" across theAtlantic gave the aircraft points to navigate by. This flight was not eligible for theDaily Mail prize since it took more than 72 consecutive hours and also because more than one aircraft was used in the attempt.[4]
Four teams were competing for the first non-stop flight across the Atlantic. They were Australian pilotHarry Hawker with observer Kenneth Mackenzie-Grieve in a single-engineSopwith Atlantic;Frederick Raynham and C. W. F. Morgan in aMartinsyde; theHandley Page Group, led by AdmiralMark Kerr; and theVickers entry John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown. Each group had to ship its aircraft to Newfoundland and make a rough field for the takeoff.[5][6]
Hawker and Mackenzie-Grieve made the first attempt on 18 May, but engine failure brought them down into the ocean where they were rescued. Raynham and Morgan also attempted on 18 May but crashed on takeoff due to the high fuel load. The Handley Page team was in the final stages of testing its aircraft for the flight in June, but the Vickers group was ready earlier.[5][6]
During 14–15 June 1919, the British aviatorsAlcock and Brown made the first non-stop transatlantic flight.[8] During the War, Alcock resolved to fly the Atlantic, and after the war, he approached theVickers engineering and aviation firm atWeybridge, which had considered entering itsVickers Vimy IV twin-engined bomber in the competition but had not yet found a pilot. Alcock's enthusiasm impressed Vickers's team, and he was appointed as its pilot. Work began on converting the Vimy for the long flight, replacing its bomb racks with extra petrol tanks.[9] Shortly afterwards Brown, who was unemployed, approached Vickers seeking a post and his knowledge of long-distance navigation convinced them to take him on as Alcock's navigator.[10]
Vickers's team quickly assembled its plane and at around 1:45 p.m. on 14 June, while the Handley Page team was conducting yet another test, the Vickers plane took off from Lester's Field, inSt John's, Newfoundland.[11]
Alcock and Brown flew the modified Vickers Vimy, powered by twoRolls-Royce Eagle 360 hp engines.[12] It was not an easy flight, with unexpected fog, and a snow storm almost causing the crewmen to crash into the sea. Their altitude varied between sea level and 12,000 feet (3,700 m) and upon takeoff, they carried 865imperial gallons (3,900 L) of fuel. They made landfall inClifden,County Galway at 8:40 a.m. on 15 June 1919, not far from their intended landing place, after less than sixteen hours of flying.[11][13]
TheSecretary of State for Air,Winston Churchill, presented Alcock and Brown with theDaily Mail prize for the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in "less than 72 consecutive hours".[14] There was a small amount of mail (3lb) carried on the flight making it also the first transatlanticairmail flight.[15][16] The two aviators wereknighted one week later byKing George V atWindsor Castle.[17]
The first transatlantic flight byrigid airship, and the first return transatlantic flight, was made just a couple of weeks after thetransatlantic flight of Alcock and Brown, on 2 July 1919. MajorGeorge Herbert Scott of theRoyal Air Force flew theairship R34 with his crew and passengers fromRAF East Fortune, Scotland toMineola, New York (onLong Island), covering a distance of about 3,000 miles (4,800 km) in about four and a half days.
The flight was intended as a testing ground for postwar commercial services by airship (seeImperial Airship Scheme), and it was the first flight to transport paying passengers. The R34 wasn't built as a passenger carrier, so extra accommodations were arranged by slinging hammocks in the keel walkway. The return journey toPulham inNorfolk, was from 10 to 13 July over some 75 hours.
The first aerial crossing of the South Atlantic was made by the Portuguese naval aviatorsGago Coutinho andSacadura Cabral in 1922. Coutinho and Cabral flew fromLisbon, Portugal, toRio de Janeiro, Brazil in stages, using three differentFairey III biplanes, and they covered a distance of 8,383 kilometres (5,209 mi) between 30 March and 17 June.
The first transatlantic flight between Spain and South America was completed in January 1926 with a crew of Spanish aviators on boardPlus Ultra, aDornier Do J flying boat; the crew was the captainRamón Franco, co-pilotJulio Ruiz de Alda Miqueleiz, Teniente de Navio (Navy Lieutenant), Juan Manuel Durán, and Pablo Rada.
The first transpolar flight eastbound and the first flight crossing the North Pole ever was the airship carrying Norwegian explorer and pilotRoald Amundsen on 11 May 1926. He flew with the airship "NORGE" ("Norway") piloted by the Italian colonelUmberto Nobile, non-stop fromSvalbard, Norway toTeller, Alaska, USA. The flight lasted for 72 hours.
The first night-time crossing of the South Atlantic was accomplished on 16–17 April 1927 by the Portuguese aviatorsSarmento de Beires, Jorge de Castilho and Manuel Gouveia, flying from theBijagós Archipelago,Portuguese Guinea, toFernando de Noronha, Brazil in theArgos, aDornier Wal flying boat.
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In the early morning of 20 May 1927,Charles Lindbergh took off fromRoosevelt Field,Mineola, New York, on his successful attempt to fly nonstop from New York to the European continental land mass. Over the next 33.5 hours, Lindbergh and theSpirit of St. Louis encountered many challenges before landing atLe Bourget Airport nearParis, at 10:22 p.m. on 21 May 1927, completing the first solo crossing of the Atlantic.
The first east-west non-stop transatlantic crossing by an aeroplane was made in 1928 by theBremen, a GermanJunkers W33 type aircraft, fromBaldonnel Airfield inCounty Dublin, Ireland.[18]
On 18 August 1932Jim Mollison made the first east-to-west solo trans-Atlantic flight; flying fromPortmarnock in Ireland toPennfield, New Brunswick, Canada in ade Havilland Puss Moth.[19]
In 1936 the first woman aviator to cross the Atlantic east to west, and the first person to fly solo from England to North America, wasBeryl Markham. She wrote about her adventures in her memoir,West with the Night.[20]
The first transpolar transatlantic (and transcontinental) crossing was thenon-stop flight [ru] piloted by the crew led byValery Chkalov covering some 8,811 kilometres (5,475 mi) over 63 hours fromMoscow,Russia toVancouver, Washington from 18–20 June 1937.
On 11 October 1928,Hugo Eckener, commanding theairshipGraf Zeppelin as part ofDELAG's operations, began the first non-stop transatlantic passenger flights, leavingFriedrichshafen, Germany, at 07:54 on 11 October 1928, and arriving atNAS Lakehurst,New Jersey, on 15 October.
Thereafter, DELAG used theGraf Zeppelin on regularly scheduled passenger flights across the North Atlantic, fromFrankfurt-am-Main to Lakehurst. In the summer of 1931, a South Atlantic route was introduced, from Frankfurt and Friedrichshafen toRecife andRio de Janeiro. Between 1931 and 1937 theGraf Zeppelin crossed the South Atlantic 136 times.[21]
The British rigid airshipR100 made a successful return trip fromCardington toMontreal in July–August 1930, in what was intended to be a proving flight for regularly scheduled passenger services. Following theR101 disaster in October 1930, the British rigid airship program was abandoned and the R100 scrapped, leaving DELAG as the sole remaining operator of transatlantic passenger airship flights.
In 1936 DELAG began passenger flights withLZ 129 Hindenburg, and made 36 Atlantic crossings (North and South). The first passenger trip across the North Atlantic left Friedrichshafen on 6 May with 56 crew and 50 passengers, arriving at Lakehurst on 9 May. The fare was $400 one way; the ten westward trips that season took 53 to 78 hours and eastward took 43 to 61 hours. The last eastward trip of the year left Lakehurst on 10 October; the first North Atlantic trip of 1937 ended in theHindenburg disaster.
It would take two more decades after Alcock and Brown's first nonstop flight across the Atlantic in 1919 before commercial airplane flights became practical. The North Atlantic presented severe challenges for aviators due to weather and the long distances involved, with few stopping points. Initial transatlantic services, therefore, focused on the South Atlantic, where some French, German, and Italian airlines offeredseaplane service for mail between South America and West Africa in the 1930s.
Between February 1934 and August 1939Lufthansa operated a regular airmail service betweenNatal, Brazil, andBathurst, Gambia, continuingvia theCanary Islands and Spain toStuttgart, Germany.[22] From December 1935,Air France opened a regular weekly airmail route between South America and Africa. German airlines experimented with mail routes over the North Atlantic in the early 1930s, with flying boats and dirigibles.
In August 1938[23] aDeutsche Luft HansaFocke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor long-range airliner flew non-stop from[24] Berlinto New York and returned non-stop as a proving flight for the development of passenger-carrying services. This was the first landplane to fulfil this function and marked a departure from the British and American reliance on flying boats for long over-water routes.[25] Operators of the Fw 200 focussed on other routes, though.
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In the 1930s a flying boat route was the only practical means of transatlantic air travel, as land-based aircraft lacked sufficient range for the crossing. An agreement between the governments of the US, Britain, Canada, and theIrish Free State in 1935 set aside the Irish town ofFoynes, the most westerly port inIreland, as the terminal for all such services to be established.[26]
Imperial Airways had bought theShort Empire flying boat, primarily for use along theempire routes to Africa, Asia and Australia, and had established an international airport onDarrell's Island, in theImperial fortresscolony ofBermuda (640 miles offCape Hatteras,North Carolina), which began serving both Imperial Airways, subsequently renamedBritish Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) andPan American World Airways (PAA) flights from the United States in 1936,[27] but began exploring the possibility of using it for transatlantic flights from 1937. PAA would begin scheduled trans-Atlantic flights via Bermuda before Imperial Airways did,[28] enabling the United States Government to covertly assist the British Government before the United States entry into the Second World War as mail was taken off trans-Atlantic PAA flights by the Imperial Censorship ofBritish Security Co-ordination to search for secret communications from Axis spies operating in the United States, including theJoe K ring, with information gained being shared with theFederal Bureau of Investigation.[29][30][31] The range of the Short Empire flying boat was less than that of the equivalent USSikorsky "Clipper" flying boats and as such was initially unable to provide a true trans-Atlantic service.[26]
Two flying boats (Caledonia andCambria) were lightened and given long-range tanks to increase the aircraft's range to 3,300 miles (5,300 km).
In the US, attention was at first focused on transatlantic flights for a faster postal service between Europe and the United States. In 1931 W. Irving Glover, the second assistant postmaster, wrote an article forPopular Mechanics on the challenges and the need for a regular service.[32] In the 1930s, under the direction ofJuan Trippe,Pan American began to get interested in the feasibility of a transatlantic passenger service using flying boats.
On 5 July 1937, A.S. Wilcockson flew aShort Empire forImperial Airways from Foynes toBotwood,Newfoundland and Harold Gray piloted aSikorsky S-42 for Pan American in the opposite direction. Both flights were a success and both airlines made a series of subsequent proving flights that same year to test out a variety of different weather conditions.Air France also became interested and began experimental flights in 1938.[33]
As the Short Empire only had enough range with enlarged fuel tanks at the expense of a passenger room, several pioneering experiments were done with the aircraft to work around the problem. It was known that aircraft could maintain flight with a greater load than is possible to take off with, so Major Robert H. Mayo, Technical general manager atImperial Airways, proposed mounting a small, long-range seaplane on top of a larger carrier aircraft, using the combined power of both to bring the smaller aircraft to operational height, at which time the two aircraft would separate, the carrier aircraft returning to base while the other flew on to its destination.[26]
TheShort Mayo Composite project, co-designed by Mayo and Shorts chief designer Arthur Gouge,[34][35] comprised theShort S.21 Maia,[36] (G-ADHK) which was a variant of theShort "C-Class" Empire flying-boat fitted with a trestle or pylon on the top of the fuselage to support theShort S.20 Mercury(G-ADHJ).[36][37]
The first successful in-flight separation of theComposite was carried out on 6 February 1938, and the first transatlantic flight was made on 21 July 1938 fromFoynes toBoucherville.[38]Mercury, piloted by CaptainDon Bennett,[39] separated from her carrier at 8 pm to continue what was to become the first commercial non-stop east-to-west transatlantic flight by aheavier-than-air machine. This initial journey took 20 hrs, 21 min at an average ground speed of 144 miles per hour (232 km/h).[40]
Another technology developed for transatlantic commercial flight wasaerial refuelling. SirAlan Cobham developed theGrappled-line looped-hose system to stimulate the possibility for long-range transoceanic commercial aircraft flights,[41] and publicly demonstrated it for the first time in 1935. In the system, the receiver aircraft trailed a steel cable which was then grappled by a line shot from the tanker. The line was then drawn back into the tanker where the receiver's cable was connected to the refueling hose. The receiver could then haul back in its cable bringing the hose to it. Once the hose was connected, the tanker climbed sufficiently above the receiver aircraft to allow the fuel to flow under gravity.[42][43]
Cobham foundedFlight Refuelling Ltd in 1934 and by 1938 had demonstrated theFRL's looped-hose system to refuel theShort Empire flying boatCambria from anArmstrong Whitworth AW.23.[44]Handley Page Harrows were used in the 1939 trials to aerial refuel the Empire flying boats for regular transatlantic crossings. From 5 August – 1 October 1939, sixteen crossings of the Atlantic were made by Empire flying boats, with 15 crossings using FRL's aerial refuelling system.[45] After the 16 crossings more trials were suspended due to the outbreak of World War II.[46]
TheShort S.26 was built in 1939 as an enlargedShort Empire, powered by four 1,400 hp (1,044 kW)Bristol Hercules sleeve valve radial engines and designed with the capability of crossing the Atlantic without refuelling. It was intended to form the backbone ofImperial Airways' Empire services. It could fly 6,000 miles (9,700 km) unburdened, or 150 passengers for a "short hop".[47] On 21 July 1939, the first aircraft, (G-AFCI "Golden Hind"), was first flown at Rochester by Shorts' chieftest pilot,John Lankester Parker. Although two aircraft were handed over to Imperial Airways for crew training, all three were impressed (along with their crews) into theRAF before they could begin civilian operation with the onset ofWorld War II.
Meanwhile, Pan Am bought nineBoeing 314 Clippers in 1939, a long-rangeflying boat capable of flying theAtlantic.[48] The "Clippers" were built for "one-class" luxury air travel, a necessity given the long duration of transoceanic flights. The seats could be converted into 36 bunks for overnight accommodation; with a cruising speed of only 188 miles per hour (303 km/h). The 314s had a lounge and dining area, and the galleys were crewed by chefs from four-star hotels. Men and women were provided with separate dressing rooms, and white-coated stewards served five and six-course meals with gleaming silver service.[49]
TheYankee Clipper's inaugural trip across the Atlantic was on 24 June 1939. Its route was fromSouthampton toPort Washington, New York with intermediate stops atFoynes, Ireland,Botwood, Newfoundland, andShediac, New Brunswick. Its first passenger flight was on 9 July, and this continued only until the onset of theSecond World War, less than two months later. TheClipper fleet was then pressed into military service and the flying boats were used for ferrying personnel and equipment to theEuropean andPacific fronts.
It was from the emergency exigencies of World War II that crossing the Atlantic by land-based aircraft became a practical and commonplace possibility. With theFall of France in June 1940, and the loss of much warmateriel on the continent, the need for the British to purchase replacement materiel from the United States was urgent. Airbases for refuelling were built inGreenland andIceland, which were occupied by the United States after theGerman invasion of Denmark (1940).
The British and United States Governments hurried a secret agreement before Britain declared war on Germany in 1939 for the United States to establish a base in Bermuda. Ultimately, the agreement would be expanded to include aUnited States Naval Operating Base, containing a Naval Air Station serving anti-submarine flying boats, on theGreat Sound (near to theRoyal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda,Royal Naval Air Station Bermuda that had been operated for theRoyal Navy with the rest of theFleet Air Arm at its original location inHM Dockyard Bermuda until 1939 by the Royal Air Force, and the Darrell's Island airport, which the Royal Air Force took over for trans-Atlantic ferrying of flying boats such as theCatalinas, which were flown there from United States factories to be tested before acceptance by the Air Ministry and delivery across the Atlantic, usually on direct flights toGreenock,Scotland.RAF Transport Command flights, such as those flown byCoronados, also utilised the facility as BOAC and PAA continued to do) andKindley Field, serving land planes, constructed by the United States Army for operation by the United States Army Air Forces, but to be used jointly by the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy. In January 1942, Prime MinisterWinston Churchill visited Bermuda on his return to Britain, following December 1941 meetings inWashington D.C., with US PresidentFranklin Roosevelt, in the weeks after theJapanese attack onPearl Harbor.[50] Churchill flew into Darrell's Island on the BOACBoeing 314Berwick. Although it had been planned to continue the journey aboard the battleshipHMS Duke of York, he made an impulsive decision to complete it by a direct flight from Bermuda to Plymouth, England aboard Berwick, marking the first trans-Atlantic air crossing by a national leader.[51] When the first runway at Kindley Field became operational in 1943, the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm relocatedRoc target tugs that had been operating on floats from RNAS Bermuda to the airfield to operate as land planes, and RAF Transport Command moved its operations there, leaving RAF Ferry Command at Darrell's Island.
The time it was taken for an aircraft – such as theLockheed Hudson – bought in the United States, to be flown toNova Scotia andNewfoundland, and then partially dis-assembled before being transported by ship to England, where it was re-assembled and subject to repairs of any damage sustained during shipment, could mean an aircraft could not enter service for several weeks. Further, GermanU-boats operating in theNorth Atlantic Ocean made it particularly hazardous for merchant ships between Newfoundland and Britain.[52]
Larger aircraft could be flown directly to the UK and an organization was set up to manage this using civilian pilots. The program was begun by theMinistry of Aircraft Production. Its minister,Lord Beaverbrook a Canadian by origin, reached an agreement with SirEdward Beatty, a friend and chairman of theCanadian Pacific Railway Company to provide ground facilities and support.Ministry of Aircraft Production would provide civilian crews and management and former RAF officerDon Bennett, a specialist in long-distance flying and later Air Vice Marshal and commander of thePathfinder Force, led the first delivery flight in November 1940.[53]
In 1941, MAP took the operation off CPR to put the whole operation under theAtlantic Ferry Organization ("Atfero"), which was set up by Morris W. Wilson, a banker inMontreal. Wilson hired civilian pilots to fly the aircraft to the UK. The pilots were then ferried back in converted RAFLiberators. "Atfero hired the pilots, planned the routes, selected the airports [and] set up weather and radiocommunication stations."[54][55]
The organization was passed to the Air Ministry administration by retaining civilian pilots, some of whom were Americans, alongside RAF navigators and British radio operators. After completing delivery, crews were flown back to Canada for the next run.[56]RAF Ferry Command was formed on 20 July 1941, by the raising of the RAF Atlantic Ferry Service to Command status.[57] Its commander for its whole existence wasAir Chief Marshal SirFrederick Bowhill.[57]
As its name suggests, the main function of Ferry Command was theferrying of new aircraft from factory to operational unit.[58] Ferry Command did this over only one area of the world, rather than the more general routes that Transport Command later developed. The Command's operational area was the North Atlantic, and its responsibility was to bring the larger aircraft that had the range to do the trip over the ocean from American and Canadian factories to the RAF home Commands.[58]
With the entry of the United States into the War, the Atlantic Division of theUnited States Army Air ForcesAir Transport Command began similar ferrying services to transport aircraft, supplies, and passengers to the British Isles.
By September 1944British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC), as Imperial Airways had by then become, had made 1,000 transatlantic crossings.[59]
After World War II long runways were available, and North American and European carriers such asPan Am,TWA,Trans Canada Airlines (TCA), BOAC, andAir France acquired larger piston airliners that could cross the North Atlantic with stops (usually inGander,Newfoundland and/orShannon, Ireland). In January 1946 Pan Am'sDouglas DC-4 was scheduled from New York (La Guardia) to London (Hurn) in 17 hours 40 minutes, five days a week; in June 1946Lockheed L-049 Constellations had brought the eastward time toLondon Heathrow down to 15 hr 15 min.
To aid aircraft crossing the Atlantic, six nations grouped to divide the Atlantic into ten zones. Each zone had a letter and a vessel station in that zone, providing radio relays, radio navigation beacons, weather reports, and rescues if an aircraft went down. The six nations of the group split the cost of these vessels.[60]
The September 1947 ABC Guide shows 27 passenger flights a week west across the North Atlantic to the US and Canada on BOAC and other European airlines and 151 flights every two weeks on Pan Am, AOA, TWA, and TCA, 15 flights a week to the Caribbean and South America, plus three a month on Iberia and aLatécoère 631 six-engine flying boat every two weeks to Fort de France.
In May 1952, BOAC was the first airline to introduce apassenger jet, thede Havilland Comet, into airline service, operating on routes in Europe and beyond (but not transatlantic). All Comet 1 aircraft were grounded in April 1954 after four Comets crashed, the last two being BOAC aircraft which suffered catastrophic failure at altitude. Later jet airliners, including the larger and longer-range Comet 4, were designed so that in the event of for example a skin failure due to cracking the damage would be localized and not catastrophic.
On 4 October 1958, BOAC started the "first-ever transatlantic jet service" betweenLondon Heathrow andNew York Idlewild with a Comet 4, andPan Am followed on 26 October with aBoeing 707 service between New York and Paris.[61]
Supersonic flights onConcorde were offered from 1976 to 2003, from London (by British Airways) and Paris (by Air France) to New York and Washington, and back, with flight times of around three and a half hours one-way. Since the loosening of regulations in the 1970s and 1980s, many airlines now compete across the Atlantic.
In 2015, 44 million seats were offered on the transatlantic routes, an increase of 6% over the previous year. Of the 67 European airports with links to North America, the busiest was LondonHeathrow Airport with 231,532 weekly seats, followed by ParisCharles de Gaulle Airport with 129,831,Frankfurt Airport with 115,420, andAmsterdam Airport Schiphol with 79,611. Of the 45 airports in North America, the busiest linked to Europe was New YorkJohn F. Kennedy International Airport with 198,442 seats, followed byToronto Pearson International Airport with 90,982, New YorkNewark Liberty International Airport with 79,107, and ChicagoO'Hare International Airport with 75,391 seats.[62]
| Airline | 2005 | 2015 | ∆ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delta Air Lines | 2.79 | 5.33 | 91% |
| British Airways | 4.93 | 4.85 | -2% |
| United Airlines | 2.37 | 4.78 | 102% |
| Lufthansa | 2.99 | 3.80 | 27% |
| American Airlines | 2.87 | 2.84 | -1% |
| Air Canada | 1.78 | 2.76 | 55% |
| Air France | 2.23 | 2.49 | 12% |
| Virgin Atlantic | 1.84 | 2.38 | 29% |
| US Airways | 1.13 | 1.75 | 55% |
| KLM | 1.12 | 1.45 | 29% |
Joint ventures, allowing coordination on prices, schedules, and strategy, control almost 75% of Transatlantic capacity. They are parallel toairline alliances:British Airways,Iberia andAmerican Airlines are part ofOneworld;Lufthansa,Air Canada andUnited Airlines are members ofStar Alliance; andDelta Air Lines,Air France,KLM andAlitalia belong toSkyTeam.Low cost carriers are starting to compete on this market, most importantlyNorwegian Air Shuttle,WestJet andWOW Air.[63] A total of 431 non-stop routes between North America and Europe were scheduled for summer 2017, up 84 routes from 347 in 2012 – a 24% increase.[64]
In 2016 Dr. Paul Williams of the University of Reading published a scientific study showing that transatlantic flight times are expected to change as the North Atlanticjet stream responds toglobal warming, with eastbound flights speeding up and westbound flights slowing down.[65]
In February 2017, Norwegian Air International announced it would start transatlantic flights to theUnited States from theUnited Kingdom and Ireland in the summer of 2017 on behalf of its parent company using the parent's newBoeing 737 MAX aircraft expected to be delivered from May 2017.[66]Norwegian Air performed its first transatlantic flight with aBoeing 737-800 on 16 June 2017 betweenEdinburgh Airport andStewart Airport, New York.[67]The first transatlantic flight with a 737 MAX was performed on 15 July 2017, with a MAX 8 namedSirFreddie Laker, betweenEdinburgh Airport in Scotland andHartford International Airport in the US state of Connecticut, followed by a second rotation from Edinburgh toStewart Airport, New York.[68]
Long-haullow-cost carriers are emerging on the transatlantic market with 545,000 seats offered over 60 city pairs in September 2017 (a 66% growth over one year), compared to 652,000 seats over 96 pairs forleisure airlines[definition needed] and 8,798,000 seats over 357 pairs formainline carriers.[69]LCC seats grew to 7.7% of North Atlantic seats in 2018 from 3.0% in 2016, led by Norwegian with 4.8% then WOW air with 1.6% andWestJet with 0.6%, while the threeairline alliances dedicatedjoint ventures seat share is 72.3%, down from 79.8% in 2015.[70]By July 2018, Norwegian became the largest European airline forNew York, carrying 1.67 million passengers over a year, beatingBritish Airways's 1.63 million, while the U.S.major carriers combined transported 26.1 million transatlantic passengers.[71]
Unlike over land, transatlantic flights use standardized aircraft routes calledNorth Atlantic Tracks (NATs). These change daily in position (although altitudes are standardized) to compensate for weather—particularly thejet streamtailwinds andheadwinds, which may be substantial at cruising altitudes and have a strong influence on trip duration and fuel economy. Eastbound flights generally operate during night-time hours, while westbound flights generally operate during daytime hours, for passenger convenience. The eastbound flow, as it is called, generally makes European landfall from about 0600UT to 0900UT. The westbound flow generally operates within a 1200–1500UT time slot. Restrictions on how far a given aircraft may be from an airport also play a part in determining its route; in the past, airliners with three or more engines were not restricted, but a twin-engine airliner was required to stay within a certain distance of airports that could accommodate it (since a single engine failure in a four-engine aircraft is less crippling than a single engine failure in a twin). Modern aircraft with two engines flying transatlantic (the most common models used for transatlantic service being theAirbus A330,Airbus A350,Boeing 767,Boeing 777 andBoeing 787) have to beETOPS certified.
| type | 1H2006 | 1H2016 |
|---|---|---|
| A310/DC10/MD11 | 3% | 1% |
| A320/B737 | 1% | 1% |
| A330 | 16% | 26% |
| A340 | 10% | 6% |
| A380 | – | 3% |
| B747 | 15% | 9% |
| B757 | 6% | 9% |
| B767 | 28% | 19% |
| B777 | 21% | 20% |
| B787 | – | 6% |
Gaps in air traffic control and radar coverage over large stretches of the Earth's oceans, as well as an absence of most types of radio navigation aids, impose a requirement for a high level of autonomy in navigation upon transatlantic flights. Aircraft must include reliable systems that can determine the aircraft's course and position with great accuracy over long distances. In addition to the traditionalcompass,inertials and satellite navigation systems such asGPS all have their place in transatlantic navigation. Land-based systems such asVOR andDME, because they operate "line of sight", are mostly useless for ocean crossings, except in initial and final legs within about 240 nautical miles (440 km) of those facilities. In the late 1950s and early 1960s an important facility for low-flying aircraft was the Radio Range. Inertial navigation systems became prominent in the 1970s.
The twenty busiest commercial routes between North America and Europe (traffic traveling in both directions) during June until August 2022 were:[73]
Rank | North American Airport | European Airport | Scheduled Flight June-Aug 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York City, United States | Heathrow Airport, London, United Kingdom | 1648 |
| 2 | Newark Liberty International Airport, New York City, United States | Heathrow Airport, London, United Kingdom | 863 |
| 3 | Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, United States | Heathrow Airport, London, United Kingdom | 828 |
| 4 | John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York City, United States | Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris, France | 825 |
| 5 | O'Hare International Airport Chicago, United States | Heathrow Airport, London, United Kingdom | 801 |
| 6 | San Francisco International Airport, San Francisco, United States | Heathrow Airport, London, United Kingdom | 617 |
| 7 | Montréal–Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, Montreal, Canada | Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris, France | 614 |
| 8 | Logan International Airport, Boston, United States | Heathrow Airport, London, United Kingdom | 598 |
| 9 | Washington Dulles International Airport, Washington, D.C., United States | Heathrow Airport, London, United Kingdom | 488 |
| 10 | John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York City, United States | Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport, Rome, Italy | 460 |
| 11 | John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York City, United States | Milan Malpensa Airport, Milan, Italy | 460 |
| 12 | Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, Dallas-Fort Worth, United States | Heathrow Airport, London, United Kingdom | 447 |
| 13 | Mexico City International Airport, Mexico City, Mexico | Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport, Madrid, Spain | 445 |
| 14 | John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York City, United States | Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Amsterdam, Netherlands | 439 |
| 15 | John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York City, United States | Frankfurt Airport, Frankfurt am Main, Germany | 433 |
| 16 | John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York City, United States | Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport, Madrid, Spain | 430 |
| 17 | Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, United States | Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris, France | 416 |
| 18 | Toronto Pearson International Airport, Malton, Canada | Heathrow Airport, London, United Kingdom | 408 |
| 19 | Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Atlanta, United States | Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris, France | 369 |
| 20 | Miami International Airport, Miami, United States | Heathrow Airport, London, United Kingdom | 369 |
TheLondon to New York Air Route is anair route betweenLondon, UK, andNew York, US. These two cities are connected by a heavily utilised 2,999-nautical-mile (3,451 mi; 5,554 km) air route which has been historically important to transatlantic aviation and is today served by several major airlines (British Airways,Virgin Atlantic,American Airlines,Delta Air Lines andJetBlue Airways:United Airlines flies out of the nearby airport ofNewark, 9 miles [14 km] away from downtownManhattan).[74][75] The airports ofHeathrow andJFK are the main international airports for theLondon metropolitan area andNew York metropolitan area respectively, the world's two most importantglobal cities.[76] The route sustains the highest number of passenger seat kilometers per annum of any route globally (10.92 billion ASK's were scheduled in 2015).[77] In 2018British Airways achieved a revenue of $1.16 billion on this route alone, making their operation the highest value airline route globally.[78] The route saw a total traffic figure in 2018 of 3,034,155 (+3.0% on 2017), the busiest of any transatlantic air route.[79][80]
Prior to the aircraft's retirement British Airways operated a double daily supersonicConcorde service on the route which covered the 2,999 nmi (3,451 mi; 5,554 km) distance in a scheduled time of 3 hours 15 minutes westbound and just under 3 hours eastbound.[81]
Below is a table of passenger numbers flying between Heathrow and JFK by year as published by the UK CAA.[82]
| Year | Total Passengers | Annual Change | Passenger Kilometers (Billions) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 3,073,200 |  29.5% | |
| 2022 | 2,373,529 | 285.6% | |
| 2021 | 615,543 |  6.6% | |
| 2020 | 659,182 | 79.4% | |
| 2019 | 3,192,195 | 5.2% | 17,730 |
| 2018 | 3,034,155 | 3.0% | 16.852 |
| 2017 | 2,945,744 | 0.4% | 16.361 |
| 2016 | 2,934,554 | 3.8% | 16.299 |
| 2015 | 3,050,499 | 2.6% | 16.942 |
| 2014 | 2,972,729 | 1.4% | 16.511 |
| 2013 | 3,015,218 | 6.2% | 16.747 |
| 2012 | 2,839,007 | 6.0% | 15.768 |
| 2011 | 2,678,991 | 6.4% | 14.879 |
| 2010 | 2,517,896 | 1.6% | 13.984 |
| 2009 | 2,478,722 | 11.6% | 13.767 |
| 2008 | 2,802,870 | 1.3% | 15.567 |
| 2007 | 2,839,221 | 3.2% | 15.769 |
| 2006 | 2,751,835 | - | 15.284 |
The fastest crewed flight on this route is 1 hour 54 minutes and 56.4 seconds, achieved by an eastboundSR-71 Blackbird on 1 September 1974. The flight departed fromBeale Air Force Base, California and landed atFarnborough International Airshow, crossing virtual radar gates over New York and London to spare them from sonic booms. The flight required three aerial refuels withKC-135Q Stratotankers after takeoff, over South Carolina, and south of Greenland.[83]
The fastest time for an airliner on the route is 2 hours 52 minutes and 59 seconds, this was achieved on an eastboundJFK-LHR Concorde service on 7 February 1996.[84]
The current fastest subsonic passenger service on the route was achieved by British Airways on 9 February 2020 with a time of 4 hours 56 minutes. TheBoeing 747-400 (registration: G-CIVP) operating flight BA112 departed JFK at 18:47Eastern Standard time (23:47UTC on 8 February) on 8 February and landed at Heathrow at 04:43GMT/UTC on 9 February. The maximum recorded groundspeed was 625 mph (543 kn; 1,006 km/h).[85]
In September 2013, Jonathan Trappe lifted off fromCaribou, Maine, United States in an attempt to make the first crossing of theAtlantic Ocean bycluster balloon.[105] The craft was essentially a small yellow lifeboat[106] attached to 370 balloons filled with helium.[107] A short time later, due to difficulty controlling the balloons, Trappe was forced to land near the town ofYork Harbour,Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.[108] Trappe had expected to arrive in Europe sometime between three and six days after liftoff.The craft ascended by the dropping of ballast, and was to drift at an altitude of up to 25,000 ft (7.6 km). It was intended to follow wind currents toward Europe, the intended destination, although unpredictable wind currents could have forced the craft toNorth Africa orNorway. To descend, Trappe would have popped or released some of the balloons.[106]The last time the Atlantic was crossed by helium balloon was in 1984 by ColonelJoe Kittinger.[109]
On July 25, 2015, Russian pilot Sergey Ananov attempted the most challenging segment (transatlantic) of his solo around-the-world helicopter flight in a Robinson R22, an aircraft weighing less than 1,000 kg. He took off fromIqaluit, Canada, en route toNuuk, Greenland. Approximately halfway through the flight, the helicopter’s engine drive belt snapped, causing immediate engine failure. Ananov attempted an emergency landing on sea ice, but the helicopter broke through and sank within seconds, taking most of his supplies. Ananov survived for over 30 hours on a drifting ice floe, exposed to freezing temperatures and without food or water. He lost his life raft early on due to strong winds. At one point, he had to remain motionless to avoid drawing the attention of a nearby polar bear. On July 27, the crew of the Canadian Coast Guard shipPierre Radisson spotted his last distress flare and rescued him.[110] First successful solo transatlantic flight in a helicopter weighing less than 1,000 kg (Robinson R44 Cadet – MTOW 998 kg) was performed by Polish pilot Piotr Wilk in 2021.[111]
The fastest transatlantic flight was done by aLockheed SR-71 Blackbird from New York to London in 1 hour 55 minutes in 1974.[112] The fastest time for an airliner is 2 hours 53 minutes forJFK–London Heathrow byConcorde in 1996.[113] The fastest JFK-LHR time for a subsonic airliner is 4 hours 56 minutes by aBritish AirwaysBoeing 747-400 in February 2020.[114] The distance JFK-LHR is 5,540 kilometres (3,440 mi).
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)Every day, between two and three thousand aircraft fly across the North Atlantic between Canada, the United States and Europe. This visualization shows Transatlantic traffic over a 24-hour period taken from a day in August last year and shows 2,524 flights crossing the North Atlantic.
